Eric McCormack returns in sci-fi thriller
FTER the successful run of “Will & Grace,” Eric McCormack could have parlayed his Emmy-winning success into a string of repeats, say “According to Eric” or even “Eric Can Wait.” But the Canadian actor went against the broadcast- television grain to try out different roles. In his most recent series, TNT’s “Perception,” he played a neuropsychiatrist and part-time crime solver. In his newest outing, “Travelers,” he is an FBI agent who becomes a “host” for a visitor from another century.
Part science fiction and part espionage, the series, created by Brad Wright of the “Stargate” franchise, transports humans from the future into the present time. They assume the lives of random people, while performing missions in order to save humanity from the bleak future they already know.
McCormack, 53, stars as Grant MacLaren, and plays a pivotal if cryptic role in the first two episodes. He spoke to The Post from New York’s London hotel about “Travelers” and the rumored revival of “Will & Grace.”
Would you say you’re playing against type in this new series?
I’m an actor. I can’t afford to have a type. I love to mix it up. I haven’t had a chance to play a quiet leading man in a while.
Why’d you sign on the dotted line for this story?
There’s a moodiness to the show. The narrative is gradual. The old network model was that every episode had to stand alone in case a person hasn’t seen the show. We are no longer babysitting people. It’s like, “Here’s the show: go!”
How does the experience of living in the 21st century change the travelers?
They have to lead these people’s lives — it’s kind of like being stationed in Hawaii in the military. You have a mission but you also get to be on the beach. It’s a one-way ticket. They’re not going back and they will stay until they die in that body.
What is the status of the “Will & Grace” revival?
The four of us are game, but it’s bigger than us. The conglomerates have to work their stuff. Contracts and lawyers are involved. It’s all NBC and Warner Bros.